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Succubus
The Succubus is a recurring enemy character in the Castlevania series. Succubi are characterized by their ability to seduce their victims, followed by them consuming their life force. A succubus is a lower class demoness, the exact opposite of the high class vampire.Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (comic). Tokyopop. 2008. The first succubus in the series appeared in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Origins A succubus or incubus is a demon from European folklore during the medieval ages, which takes the form of an attractive woman or man to seduce the opposite sex. They draw energy from men or women to sustain themselves, often until the point of exhaustion or death of the victim. The word succubus is derived from the Latin succubare, meaning "to lie beneath". The male-form succubus, or incubus, draws its name from the Latin incubare, meaning "to lie upon". Although the terms succubus and incubus have their roots in Latin, entities with the same characteristics have appeared in the Sumerian King list from 2400 B.C., where the father of the hero Gilgamesh is identified as Lilu, said to be a demon who disturbs and seduces women in their sleep; one of four types of demons to which "the dark maid Lilith" gave birth to. Succubi and incubi are often said to appear to men or women in their dreams, although other versions state that they actually sit on the chests of their victims while they sleep. The feeling of pressure on the chest, as well as other sensations, such as hearing voices or having hallucinations, has caused the Succubus and Incubus myth to be linked to sleep paralysis. Powers and abilities Succubi or Incubi take on the appearance of very attractive men or women. They possess the ability to create illusions — ranging from taking the appearance of loved ones to creating illusory dream worlds or sensations — to soothe their victims, lulling them into a false sense of security.Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Konami. 1997.Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. Konami 2003.Akumajō Dracula X: Tsuioku no Yasōkyoku. 2008. The powers of a Succubus or Incubus reside in its claws. When these claws are damaged or destroyed, it is rendered powerless. Appearances ''Castlevania: Symphony of the Night The Succubus disguises herself as Alucard's mother, Lisa, in order to deceive him. Throughout the castle, Alucard is able to rest in coffins in order to restore his health and save the game. One of these save points, located in the Underground Caverns, is different from the rest (colored in purple). If Alucard rests in that particular coffin, the Succubus appears in a nightmare and recreates the moment of Lisa's execution, taking her appearance. The scene ends with Alucard seeing through the illusion and resulting in an encounter between him and her. Due to the death of the Succubus in the dream world, her soul is sent wandering for eternity. She has three main attacks: #She spreads a swarm of petals, similar to Karasuman (17 ATT, Curse). #She lengthens the bones of her wings (30 ATT, Cut). #She copies herself into many image and makes each of them to shoot two homing projectiles (25 ATT, Hit). The attack won't stop until either her or all of her copies are hit. Rica Fukami is the voice actress for the Succubus in the Japanese version. Barbara Whitlow voices her in the original English dub, while Jessica Straus does the voice in ''Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles version of the game. If she defeats Alucard in The Dracula X Chronicles, she will say: "Come wander the darkness with me, love." She has 666 HP, referencing the Number of the Beast. The Succubus is a boss exclusive to Alucard. If Richter visits the room that normally houses the false save point, it will be empty, save for a single Heart that appears upon entrance to the room and floats to the floor. ''Castlevania: Circle of the Moon Unlike her ''Symphony of the Night counterpart, in Circle of the Moon the Succubus doesn't take a prominent character role and instead appears only as a lesser enemy. She is one of the many lady bats that appear in the game, and her sprite is actually the basis for the rest of these types of enemies. Not for this should she be underestimated, though, as she boasts great mobility and flies all about the screen, running circles around Nathan and occasionally stopping in midair to shoot three simultaneous rays at different angles. She drops the valuable Intelligence Ring, which greatly boosts INT (+50) while giving minor penalties to other stats. If the player manages to obtain two of these rings, rest assured they'll become able to perform some of the most devastating DSS attacks (such as summoning monsters) often without having to worry much about running out of MP. Three stronger Succubi are encountered later in a room of the Battle Arena, attacking alongside three equally stronger Arachnes. ''Note: Second stat listed is when encountered in the Battle Arena.'' ''Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow The Succubus is a palette swap of Lilith. Succubi encountered on either the Top Floor or Chaotic Realm take the form of Mina Hakuba in order to deceive Soma. They lie on the floor as if injured and call out to him pleading for help, only to shed their disguise if approached or attacked. In The Arena, a Succubus can be found in the room containing a bathing pool, along with Lilith. The Succubus' soul is named Death Touch. It's an Enchanted Soul that gives the ability to absorb HP with every hit. This is similar to Alucard's Soul Steal ability from ''Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It's also one of the three souls required to reach the true ending. It effectively turns the equipped weapon into a slightly weaker Mourneblade, healing 5 HP instead of 8, and has the same ability to heal when striking breakable objects, invincible enemies, and enemies which guard the actual hit, such as the Dead Crusader or the Great Armor. ''Castlevania: Lament of Innocence The Succubus is one of the five guardian monsters who maintain the seal placed on the entrance to the Pagoda of the Misty Moon. Her assigned area is the Ghostly Theatre. After Leon rings the Curtain Time Bell three times, the Succubus appears on the stage disguised as his lover, Sara Trantoul. Leon quickly sees through the illusion, however, and the Succubus reveals her true form. After she's defeated, the Succubus reveals that Rinaldo had a daughter and implies that she had earlier adopted her guise in order to make him lower his guard. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow The Succubus returns in ''Aria's sequel, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. She can be found in The Pinnacle, the Cursed Clock Tower, the Demon Guest House and The Abyss. This time around, she disguises as Yoko Belnades to delude Soma and kicks him whenever he approaches her. Only by attacking Yoko's form will the Succubus reveal her true form. Her soul, Blood Sucker, is now a Bullet Soul that grants Soma the ability to drink an enemy's blood to replenish health. ''Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin The Succubus from ''Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin looks and behaves exactly like her counterpart from Dawn of Sorrow. She can be encountered in the Master's Keep and the Burnt Paradise. Due to the two playable characters, Jonathan and Charlotte, being able to switch around at will, the Succubus will say different things when encountered. In the case of Jonathan, she'll say: "You impudent!", and when playing as Charlotte, she'll exclaim: "Filthy cow!". ''Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night The Succubus makes her playable debut in the Arcade Mode of ''Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night. ''Castlevania: Harmony of Despair The Succubus appears in Chapter 2: Lord of Unseen Strings, and in Chapter 6: Come, Sweet Hour of Death. Her behavior and appearance is the same as from her previous two incarnations in ''Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin. She once again disguises herself as Yoko Belnades. Other appearances ''Pachislot Akumajō Dracula'' series The Succubus is a recurring boss in the Pachislot Akumajō Dracula trilogy. In the second game, she summons duplicates of herself to hold Trevor down while she steals a kiss and drains his energy. She then unleashes an electrical attack. She is not shown being destroyed at the end in either game, and instead just pouts in submission. Her design is largely based on the one from Lament of Innocence. Merchandise NECA produced a seven inch tall action figure of the Succubus in their series of Castlevania figures. The figure was released on October 10th, 2007. The appearance of the Succubus appears to be modeled after her Symphony of the Night appearance. The figure also came bundled with an Axe accessory and a figure of the Flea Man enemy. Item Data See also *Lady Bats *Lilith References External links * de:Succubus es:Succubus Category:Antagonists Category:Demons Category:Female Characters Category:Female Monsters Category:Flying Bosses Category:Flying Enemies Category:Aria of Sorrow Enemies Category:Circle of the Moon Enemies Category:Curse of Darkness Manga Characters Category:Dawn of Sorrow Enemies Category:Dracula X Chronicles Bosses Category:Dracula X Chronicles Characters Category:Encore of the Night Playable Characters Category:Harmony of Despair Enemies Category:Lament of Innocence Bosses Category:Lament of Innocence Characters Category:Lament of Innocence Mobile Manga Characters Category:Pachislot Characters Category:Symphony of the Night Bosses Category:Symphony of the Night Characters Category:Dark Enemies